Bronze and Ginger
by K0nflicti0n
Summary: Nell Jones has just joined the Office of Special Projects and right now it seems like her only friend at work is the teams Liaison Officer Detective Marty Deeks. Is it because our friendly neighborhood detective knows what its like to be the new kid in the playground, or is it something more?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I once asked Callen37 to write a Deeks/Nell story and she has done an amazing job with plenty of little plot twists I never would have considered. That being said I need to take a page out of her playbook and write a story that is outside my normal Densi story so here it is.**

**So a little backstory is on order first. This is going to start on the same day as Nell joined the NCIS: LA team since she just showed up and had already been with the team for a week or and we never got to see how that transition went. ALSO for the purposes of this story Kensi and Deeks are just friends no attraction between them at all. So all you Densi, Nallen, Neric fans are going to be disappointed. Oh and the Cansi/CaKe/Kellan fans you're sure as hell going to be disappointed because I flat out hate that pairing (I can read some of the Kensi/Callen fics if they are done right but I don't really enjoy it) and refuse to write one. Now on with the show!**

It was a typical, if such a word could be used to describe anything in relation to the Office of Special Projects, Monday morning in the 'condemned' Water Administration Building that housed the highly classified department of NCIS. The three NCIS Agents and their LAPD Liaison were seated at their desks each going through their morning routine, which of course varied from person to person.

Kensi was looking at upcoming training courses and working on a huge Bear-claw while her friend and team leader Special Agent G. Callen was currently reading the LA Times. At the table across from the sat LAPD Detective Marty Deeks and former Navy SEAL turned NCIS Agent Sam Hannah. Deeks was looking up projected surfing report for the rest of the week as well as texting back some random female that he was trying to get a date with while Sam was getting caught up on a few personal e-mails from friends and family.

"Good morning all." Operations Manager Hetty Lange said as she walked into the bullpen and the team could tell she was not in here usually chipper mood when simply talking to the team. "Miss Blye, Mr. Deeks I have an assignment for the two of you." This of course grabbed everyone's attention as the stopped whatever they were doing and gave Hetty their full and undivided attention. "Since Director Vance is most eager to have our officer completely operational he has procured us a Intelligence Analyst."

Sam and Callen shared a look after this was said this since they both knew that Hetty was less than fond of anyone who held the job title of Intelligence Analyst. The cause of this, much like the rest of Hetty's background was shrouded in mystery and myth, but having worked with and for Hetty for the past four years and they knew firsthand how much the enigmatic Hetty Lange disliked Intelligence Analysts.

"Rest assured gentleman I have been assured that this particular individual was handpicked by the Director himself so that her integration into this office will be seamless. In all aspects, or at least he claims so." Hetty said as she held up her hands for forestall any remarks from the two senior agents of her team.

"Not to interrupt anything Hetty but where do me and Kensi come in?" Deeks asked as he closed the screen of his laptop and looked over at Kensi and, not for the first time, briefly entertained the thought of why there wasn't any form of attraction between them before he looked back at Hetty.

"Our new Analysts, a Miss Jones, will be on a plane that will land at LAX at a quarter past twelve today. I would appreciate it if the two of you would retrieve her so that we may begin getting her acclimated and up to speed to the office and many of our protocols." Hetty said as she handed a file to Kensi. "Now seeing as it is five past nine I believe you all have some paper work that is over do, so I suggest you stop procrastinating and get to it." And with that the legendary and diminutive Hetty Lange turned on her heels and strode out of the bullpen and towards some other location of the large building.

Roughly two hours later Deeks and Kensi were standing near the baggage claim for domestic flights at LAX both nursing their own particular favorite form of a coffee based drink as they waited for the, for now, mysterious Nell Jones to arrive.

"So basically we are waiting on a red haired younger version on Hetty?" Deeks asked as he did a quick scan of the area. If he was completely honest Deeks hated being in large open spaces where there was a good chance one of his old LAPD collars could notice him, and with as many people that went in and out of LAX each day those odds were pretty good and it made him nervous because some poor sod could catch a stray bullet, if a gun fight were to break out, and that would be on his head, or at least that's what he would think because that's just the kind of man he is. Deeks of course knew the look he was getting from Kensi and he just grinned and shrugged his shoulder. "What? All I'm saying is that she is about the same height, younger and has red hair." Deeks said as he turned his head just in time to catch the tail end of a Kensi Bley patent eye roll. "Oh don't act like you haven't wondered what Hetty was like before she was Hetty."

"That doesn't even make sense." Kensi retorted as she scoffed at her friend and partner.

"Yes it does…unless Hetty's a cyborg, which would explain why she seems to know everything." Deeks said before a mischievous grin spread across his face. "We should see if a magnet sticks to her so we know for sure."

"I think you should try so I can see her use her letter opener to carve you like a Christmas Turkey." Kensi shot back grinning evilly at Deeks.

"You wouldn't let her do that. Than who else would you make watch Titanic for billionth time with you?" Deeks teased Kensi and bumped his shoulder into hers causing the two partners and friends to smile and chuckle softly.

Up ahead Deeks spotted their shiny brand new NCIS Intelligence Analyst and he nodded at her to get Kensi's attention. "Looks like its show time." He said casually as he tossed his half empty coffee into the trash and made his way towards Nell with Kensi right beside him.

"Hey Deeks let me take lead on this. She probably doesn't know anything about us of the office yet so my badge should set her at ease." Kensi said as he reached into her back pocket and pulled out her wallet with her NCIS credentials in it. "And she looks pretty nervous."

"Good idea." Deeks said and he cut his next couple steps short to let Kensi get slightly in front of him as the duo walked up to Nell who suddenly seemed very apprehensive of the two who basically towered over her.

"Nell Jones I'm Special Agent Kensi Blye." The taller of the two woman said as she handed Nell her badge and I.D. for verification. "And this is my partner and our offices LAPD Liaison Detective Marty Deeks."

Nell and Deeks met each other gaze at the same instant and both flashed a rather charming and brilliant smile as they both said 'hi' to each other at the same time only making them grinned and nervously laugh/


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm really surprised and pleased at the amount of review and follows I've received. And to the negative naysayers shut the hell up! We are on this sight because we enjoy reading fanfiction and I enjoy writing fanfiction for NCIS: Los Angeles. We do this for fun! Either be supportive or offer constructive criticism or shut the hell up! So to those of you who have reviewed, followed and favorite this story THANK YOU!**

The rest of the day had been spent with getting Nell situated at the old Spanish styled building that housed the clandestine unit, which meant the grand tour of the place, introductions to the various staffers that she would interact with on a regular basis and getting Nell up to speed on the various procedures that were unique to the Office of Special Projects.

Throughout the course of the day Deeks had been nicer to Nell that just about everyone except for maybe Eric. But then again Deeks knew firsthand how hard it was to fit in with this tight knit group and truth be told he was pretty sure he was still struggling to do just that, even though he had been part of the team for almost a year and they had saved his bacon, get it police man and bacon, during the Ortega/Lasick case.

After everyone else had left for the day Deeks had stayed behind pretending to catch up on some overdue LAPD paperwork from their last case and since every knew that Deeks often had to do twice the paperwork as them neither Sam, Callen or Kensi had given it a second though as they bid him good night and walked out of the building. Deeks waited several minutes to be sure that everyone else was gone before he pulled up the secured sever for the office and began to scroll through the personnel files until he found what he was looking for. Grabbing a small scrap of paper Deeks quickly scribbled down the information he wanted and was about to log off and disconnect his computer when he felt that someone was watching him. Looking up Deeks found himself face to face with Hetty Lange and all he could do was smile sheepishly at her since he was pretty sure she knew what he had been doing.

"Hey Hetty what's up?" Deeks asked as he hurriedly logged off the secure OSP sever and practically slammed the screen of his laptop closed.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing. Normally I have a problem with one of my people accessing the personnel files of their co-workers but given that there are still things about this office that you don't yet know so I'm willing to overlook it, if you tell me what it is you're up to." Hetty ordered the blonde haired detective as he moved to stand next to him.

"I…" Deeks paused and sighed heavily before he looked Hetty directly in the eyes. "I know how hard it is to be the new kid in the playground here. Don't get me wrong you run a tight ship here, maybe too tight." Deeks said as he leaned back in her chair still keeping eye contact with Hetty.

"And you're worried that Miss Jones will experience the same hostility you yourself did when you first joined us?" Hetty asked Deeks evenly and she was starting to understand where Deeks was coming from.

"Yeah. I mean sure Nell isn't taking anyone's seat." Deeks said pausing as he remembered how hostile everyone had been his first morning there, especially Sam how had pretty much told him he wasn't cut out for this line of work and he should go crawling back to LAPD. "But let's be honest. Your team isn't exactly the friendliest bunch to anyone new. And there were more than a few not so subtle hints that you don't like intelligence analysts."

"Ah. And you feel that the others are taking a cue from my well known dislike for anyone in the same field as Miss Jones?" Hetty said and was honestly shocked that Deeks of all people was the one to 'call her out' on this situation, but Hetty of all people knew that Detective Martin A. Deeks was not one to be underestimated.

"You know what they say." Deeks said with a slightly cheeky grin on his face and against her better judgment Hetty took the bait.

"And what exactly is it that they are saying Mr. Deeks?"

"When in Rome. Or as I prefer to call it Monkey see Monkey do." Deeks said as he flashed a amused smile at Hetty before it slowly faded as the look on her face told him she was not amused and a uncomfortable silence descended upon the bullpen for several very long seconds before Hetty nodded at his words.

"While I am not a fan of your…cheeky attitude. I do see you're point Detective." Hetty said as she seemed to be considering something for moment before she spoke again. "I think I should give Miss Jones a fair chance and I think I have a solution to the less that welcoming attitude of the others tomorrow morning. Good night Mr. Deeks." With that Hetty turned around and walked towards her desk.

"Night Hetty." Deeks responded and gathered his things and made his way towards his car before leaving for the address he had 'stolen' from the NCIS server.

Nell Jones was currently in the process of trying to unpack and move into her new apartment and talk to her mom at the same time. The only problem was that Nell had to lie to her mom about almost everything about her job, everything that is except for a certain Liaison Officer who seemed to be the only nice person at her new job. Well he wasn't the only way that was nice but Eric seemed to be extremely awkward when it came to social skills and Nell was willing to bet that he has your stereotypical computer geek. Which meant that all of his friends outside fo work were people he played computer games with and never had to interact with one a face to face level. As Nell's mother was practically demanding all the details of what it was like to live in Los Angeles a sudden and completely unexpected knock on the door scared her and Nell instantly started to search for her side arm. "Mom I have company so I need to let you go. I love you and I'll call you later." With that Nell hung up and slipped her cellphone into her pocket as she crept towards the door with her pistol at the ready.

"Nell its Deeks." The blonde haired former public defender said as he knocked on the door again and Nell's shoulder slumped as she relaxed and she opened the door for him. "Hey what's….with the warm welcome?" Deeks said as he noticed the gun in her hand and he grinned at her.

"You big jerk! You scared me half to death!" Nell said as she clicked the safety on and Deeks raised an eyebrow at her before he grinned playfully at her.

"Sorry about that. Figured you would be busy moving in and since I don't think you have a car yet or know your way around LA I thought I would bring some dinner and some menus from my collection of fine dining or places in LA that deliver." Deeks said as he held up a white plastic bag and a six pack of beer in one hand and a large bundle of menus in the other. "Oh and I brought a sixer from a local brewery as a apartment warming gift."

"Oh…thank you." Nell said as she stepped to the side and held the door open for Deeks to walk in.

"Wow this is a really nice place you have here Nell." Deeks said as he looked around and while the place was full of boxes he could see the potential of the place, as long as Nell was not a packrat that refused to clean up like Kensi was.

"Thank you." Nell said as she closed the door and walked into the kitchen area and began to look around. "I have a box with some silverware around….here it is!" Nell said as she pulled open the box and then looked up at Deeks. "What did you bring for food anyways?"

"Only the single greatest Chinese takeout in LA!" Deeks said proudly as he pulled out a couple of boxes and placed them on the table. That's when Nell saw the words 'Yummy Yummy Heat Attack'

"Um…." Nell said as she looked apprehensively at the words on the box but she didn't have any reason to not believe Deeks.

"Oh trust me Nell. This right here will change your life." Deeks said as he opened a box of Drunken Pigs and grabbed one and held it out for Nell who gave him a strange look. "It's ok Nell I washed my hands so you won't get my cooties." He teased her and almost laughed when Nell rolled her eyes but took the offered piece of food and popped it in her mouth and started to chew.

"Oh. My. God! That is amazing! What is that?" Nell asked as he eyes seemed to light up and she started to see if there was another box of them in the take out bag.

"Those, young grasshopper, are Drunken Pigs. And yes I got you a box of them." Deeks said with a grin when Nell started digging through the take out containers to find her designated target. After she found her box of Drunken Pigs Nell sat at the table to eat and was soon joined by Deeks.

**A/N: Again thanks for all the support for this story! It means a lot to me, honestly! I'm going to end this chapter here because I want to use the next chapter for a conversation over Chinese takeout between Deeks and Nell. It's going to be pretty good, at least I think it will LOL.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Previously**

"_Those, young grasshopper, are Drunken Pigs. And yes I got you a box of them." Deeks said with a grin when Nell started digging through the take out containers to find her designated target. After she found her box of Drunken Pigs Nell sat at the table to eat and was soon joined by Deeks._

The two OSP members both were busy eating their food in a easy silence for a couple of minutes before Nell put her food on the table and looked at Deeks. "Hey can I ask you something?"

"Pretty sure you just did but yeah what's up Nell?" Deeks asked as he popped another Drunken Pig in his mouth.

Nell pursed her lips as she looked at Deeks and tried to figure out exactly how she wanted to word her thoughts without sounding rude. "I really appreciate how you're going out of your way to make me fell welcome and I appreciate it, I really do…."

"But you wanna know why?" Deeks asked already figuring out where she was headed with her thoughts and took a drink of his beer as Nell nodded her head in the affirmative to his question. "I know what is like to be the new kid in the sandbox with Hetty's team. When I joined the team last year…Well let's just say that they are being nicer to you than me." Deeks said with a crooked and almost sad smile as he looked at Nell.

"Why is that?" Nell asked wondering what the story was and if Deeks would tell her or not.

"I was undercover for a LAPD op when our paths crossed. Of course they wanted to take over and just arrest someone for killing a Marine. Don't get me wrong I'm all for a victim's family getting some form of justice and no one should get away with murder but they acted like I didn't matter since I was 'just a cop." Deeks used his fore fingers to make air quotes when he said that. "In fact it's something Sam likes to remind me off at least once a month. Well for some reason Hetty wanted me as a Liaison Officer and to this day I still don't know why I said yes."

Deeks paused and took another sip from his beer as he thought about how bad they treated him. Well Kensi wasn't so bad but Deeks was still less than thrilled with her attitude towards him at times. "Anyways what I didn't know at the time was there had been another Agent on the team, only he had been kidnapped and the rest thought I was trying to take his job or something. The first case I actually worked with them was no picnic. Kensi was almost killed and Callen took a shot that could have blown my head off or killed our only witness. Actually when I think about it Callen put my life in danger twice that case." Deeks took another drink of his beer and he was impressed that Nell was taking this so well, that or she had a poker face that could rival Hetty's. "So after it was all said and done I got a call about a undercover assignment from my boss. He asked if I wanted in and after the welcome wagon I got from NCIS I took it"

Deeks leaned back in his chair and sighed. "Sorry I don't mean to lay this all on you."

"No please continue. I asked and believe it or not this is really helpful." Nell said as she took a drink from her own beer and motioned for Deeks to continue.

"Well the Op was deep cover and took longer than anyone expected. My partner was killed. The suspect of the assignment and his bodyguard were killed. I almost bought the farm. Turns out that there was a dirty cop telling the bad guys everything. Almost got killed again but the team showed up at the last minute and saved my bacon. Ha ha get it bacon, cause I'm a cop." Deeks asked as he flashed a grin that told how pleased he was with himself over that one.

Of course Nell gave Deeks a small smile and nodded at him. "Very impressive."

"I have my moments." Deeks replied and looked down at his beer he was holding in both hand and the smile faded and he debated if he should tell Nell the dirty end of the story or not. She was really nice and he didn't think either one of them were ready for that part of the story just yet. "So after than I knew I really didn't have a home at LAPD anymore and I figured I would at least give the team another chance."

"Okay…." Nell said unsure of how she should reply to that. Saying 'I'm sorry that happened to you' would have been true but it really wouldn't have done anything. "So any advice you can give me with the team?"

"Well Sam is former Navy and a SEAL on top of that so he's pretty straight forward. Kensi…well Kensi is kinda like a female Jason Bourne. Callen is a pretty good guy for the most part. Honest and fair." Deeks said as he finished off his beer and stood up to get another beer from the fridge. "Eric is actually really cool and probably the only person I would consider a friend." Deeks said as he grabbed a beer and held it out for Nell who politely declined.

"So what about Hetty?" Nell asked since she was the one Nell had to get to like her if she wanted to stay with the unit.

"Hetty…" Deeks paused as he twisted the top off the beer and took a drink as he thought about how to answer this. "Hetty is a question wrapped in an enigma surrounded by mystery. She always seems to have some bit of veiled sage wisdom for just about everything. Oh and she has these teas that are from all over the world and she is always drinking some flavor or another."

Nell couldn't help it and started laughing at Deeks description of Hetty. Of course unsure of what was going on and why it was Deeks started to chuckle with Nell. "Wha….What's so funny about that?"

"I….I don't know." Nell said still laughing. This of course caused the two of them to start laughing a little harder before they both finally calmed down.

"Hey since you don't have a car yet how bout I give you a ride to work tomorrow?" Deeks asked as he looked in the bag of Chinese takeout for something else to eat.

"Are you sure? I don't want to…" Nell started but Deeks cut her off.

"Yeah don't worry about it. Besides us newbies need to stick together right?" Deeks asked as he held up his beer bottle towards Nell it like it was a toast.

Nell smiled at Deeks and tapped her bottle against his. "Right."


	4. Chapter 4

Nell had been with the Office of Special Project for about two months now and things were looking a lot more promising at work then they had when she first started. The team was for more friendly to her then they had been at first and Nell suspected that Deeks had played a role in that, and oddly enough she was ok with that. Having a friend outside of work like Deeks had made the move from Pennsylvania to Los Angeles just that much easier. Deeks knew all of these great little 'mom and pop' kind of places that Nell grew up around back home and instead of making her homesick it actually made L.A. feel like home. As the month had progressed Saturday had unofficially turned into a 'hang out and explore Los Angeles with Deeks' day and Nell completely enjoyed the time the two of them spent together and she looked forward to them.

She wasn't entirely sure what it was about being around Deeks but everything seemed to come so easy. They had completely different backgrounds and lifestyles. Deeks was your typical southern California laid back surfer and Nell was a conservative and intelligent person with a bit of hipster edge. They couldn't be any more different yet they were like two peas in a pod. Nell often found herself thinking about Deeks and at times she wondered if he was into her as more than a friend. He would flirt and tease her when they hung out together, but it was much in the same manner that he would interact with Kensi so Nell wasn't sure if that was just Deeks being Deeks and that she was reading something more into it that what was actually there.

Of course Nell hadn't always thought about Deeks as more than a friend. That had started the night after Deeks and Kensi had almost been blown to bits. Nell had been in Ops with Eric during the exchange and as she heard Deeks through the communication gear she found herself holding her breath the entire time and had only dared to breathe after Deeks had told Callen that the two of them were ok. This of course led to Nell current situation and predicament. She was standing outside Deeks apartment door and was trying to work up the nerve to actually knock on the door that seemed to be taunting her 'weakness'. What if she was reading more into this than was there? What if Deeks was just a friend and nothing more? What if there really was something between Deeks and Kensi?

All these what ifs were racing through her mind as Nell stood there. As she tried to decide if she was ready to face this or just simply sneak off the sound of heavy sniffing drifted through the door and that snapped Nell out of her thoughts and a perplexed look crossed her face. Looking at the door number Nell double check ad knew that she was at the right address but the noise made her wonder, until she heard his voice.

"What's the matter buddy? Is one of your gorgeous lady friends out there? Oh I know you had a date and forgot to tell me huh?" Deeks said and Nell couldn't but smile at his relaxed and playful tone of voice, even though she was confused as to who he was talking to until she heard a dog bark and then start to whine and scratch at the door. Knowing she had been made by Deeks dog, a dog she didn't know he had, Nell reach up and knocked on the door.

When Deeks opened the door Nell was greeted with the sight of a older looking grey scruffy dog and his equally looking scruffy owner. "Nell? Hey what are you doing here?" Deeks was standing there in a pair of board shorts and a loose fitting black tank top that showed off his defined shoulders and arms, a sight that Nell really did enjoy and she smiled at him.

"I thought I'd stop by and see how you're doing after….well you know."

"You mean after almost getting blown up?" Deeks said in a causal and off-hand manner like it was a weekly occurrence. This of course caused the smile to fade from Nell's face and Deeks knew that it had been the wrong thing to say so he quickly switched gears. "Oh were are my manners? Monty this is Nell. Say hi Monty." Deeks looked down at the dog to hide the fact that he didn't like the fact that he had caused Nell's smile to be replaced with a look of worry. The Dog barked happily at Nell and begun to wag his tail furiously as he stepped forward to smell her.

Nell was thankful for the change in topic and crouched down to let the dog smell the back of her hand before she reached out to scratch him behind his ears and on the top of his head. "Well it's nice to meet you to Monty." Nell said playfully as the dog soaked up the attention from the new visitor.

Deeks grinned at the two of them before he opened the door wider and motioned into his apartment. "Do you…uh wanna come in Nell?" Deeks asked. Normally he was a pretty reserved person when it came to his personal life and his apartment and dog were kind fo his thing, almost a sanctuary of sorts that he could use to escape the darker parts of the world he saw on daily bases as a undercover cop and now as the LAPD Liaison for NCIS.

"Sure." Nell stood up with one last pat to Monty;s head and followed the dog into the apartment and as she looked around she grinned and shook her head as she let out a laughing snort. "You can definetly tell this is your place Deeks." Nell said as she turned to Deeks with a teasing look on her face. "Dogs playing cards seems like the kind of thing you would have on the wall." Nell said I a light tone so that Deeks knew she wasn't judging him.

"What can I say? I enjoy the finer things in life, like fish tacos and perfect swells." Deeks said as he closed the door and grinned. He wasn't grinning at his joke or anything else, no he was grinning because Nell was smiling again. But that also made him not want to talk about why Nell was here but he knew it would get brought up again so he opted for sooner rather than later. "So I take it the other day was a little hard for you?"

"Having two of my friends getting blown up falls in more than the little hard to handle category Deeks." Nell said evenly as she looked at him. "That was….is not something I want to have to repeat."

"Yeah me either. But it was Kensi and she's my partner and when I was in that room with her all I thought about was that Jess didn't get the same chance Kensi did. The only blessing is that Jess never say it coming and that it happened so fast she never knew what hit her." Deeks kept talking and his voice got heavier with sorrow and guilt the more he talked. "Once Kensi told me that there was a bomb all I thought about was that I was going to lose another partner to a bomb. But at least with Kensi I had a chance to save her. We just got lucky."

"Deeks…I….never mind this was a mistake." Nell said as she looked at the floor and wished she hadn't come here.

"Nell what's wrong?" Deeks asked worried as he looked at Nell and noticed her entire demeanor change in an instant.

"I know that you liked Detective Trainer and I know you and Kensi have been partners for a while and after everything that happened I can't help but wonder…"

"If there is something between me and Kensi?"

Nell didn't trust herself to speak so she simple nodded her head and refused to look at Deeks when she heard him sigh before he started talking. "No Kensi is my partner and I can't go down that road again. Last time I got sloppy and careless and someone died because of it. Hell I was so bent on getting revenge for Jess that I almost shot a cuffed and unarmed man in the chest because he had sold both of us out. Luckily the team as there to talk me down." Deeks paused as he ran a hand through his hair. "After what happened to Jess I can't get involved with another partner."

Nell nodded her head and she finally looked up at Deeks and since she knew that there was nothing between Deeks and Kensi she felt that she at least had a chance with Deeks but there was one more thing she needed to know before she actually tried.

"So since we work together would you call us partners?" Nell asked her voice soft and timid because she was honestly worried what his answer would be.


	5. Chapter 5

"What?" Deeks asked confused because he hadn't been expecting Nell to ask him that and her voice was so soft he wasn't entirely sure he had heard her correctly.

Nell looked up at Deeks and he noticed that determined look in her eyes that he had only seen a few times. "I asked do you see me as a partner since we work together." Nell tried to appear calm and confident but she looked more excited and scared.

"I uh…." Deeks stood their shocked because he knew where this was going and even though he had flirted with this idea a few times before he wasn't sure if Nell viewed him as anything more than a friend. Apparently he had taken to long to answer as he saw the light dim in Nell's eyes and her shoulders slum. "I mean we work together and we hang out a lot but I uh…I didn't know you thought about me like that and I have to admit I have thought about asking you out, honestly I have but I don't know how things work at a federal agency like NCIS when it comes to dating a co-worker. And then there is the fact that our office is highly classified and I don't know how Hetty would take it and as much as I want to ask you out I really feel like I have a place here and even though…"

"Deeks." Nell said firmly as she stepped forward and grabbed his arms at the elbows to grab his attention and bringing his nervous babbling to a complete halt. "It's a simple yes or no question."

Deeks and Nell stood their staring each other in the eye, one set fell of hope and wonder while the other was full of fear and wonder. After what seemed an eternity Deeks finally swallowed to clear a lump that had been forming in his throat and he gave Nell his trademark crooked half grin. "No I don't."

Nell felt like a huge weight had been lifted from her small shoulders and her small and modest grin grew exponentially as she looked up at Deeks who was smiling widely at her as well. "So what are you doing next weekend?" Nell asked feeling really giddy and happy at that moment.

"Nell Jones are you asking me out on a date?" Deeks said as he looked down at the smaller woman. "Because I hate to tell you already have plans with someone. She really great, smart, funny, isn't afraid of anything and to be honest I think my dog is a big fan of her." Deeks said as he noticed that Monty was sitting calmly beside Nell even though his tail was still wagging, just not as rapidly as it had when they two were introduced.

"Well that's ok. I'm going out with this really great guy next weekend. He's a surfer but is really smart and funny and even though he doesn't take much serious I can tell he is a really good person." Nell said knowing what Deeks was doing and she started to give it back to him just as well as he was dishing it out.

"All jokes and flirting aside what do we do about the team and Hetty?" Deeks asked seriously even though he was still smiling at Nell.

"What do you mean?" Nell asked confused but she just couldn't force herself to stop smiling.

"Well I mean we do work together and like I said I don't know how Hetty feels about that and things are just starting to look good for you at work and I don't want one of us to get in trouble of get reassigned because we decide to start dating.

"Well…it's just one date and we don't actually have to tell the others until we feel a need to." Nell said calmly. She was slightly confused when Deeks let out a half laugh that shook his shoulders so she arced and eyebrow waiting for him to explain.

"Yeah I know you're still fairly new but Hetty pretty much knows everything all the time." Deeks said still smiling. "But you're right. They don't need to know what we do outside of the office."

As impossible as it seemed Nell's smile grew wider when Deeks used the word we and she winked at him as she started talking again. "Well then I'll see you tomorrow at work." Nell's gave Deeks forearms a light squeeze before she let go of him and patted Monty one last time before she opened his door. "Oh has any one ever told you that you look like Shaggy from Scooby-Doo?" and with that Nell closed the door and was smiling the whole way back to her apartment.

"OH COME ON!" Deeks shouted at her after she closed the door trying, and failing, to sound indignant at the jab but he was still smiling. In fact he was still smiling the next day when he woke up.

**A/N: I know it was a short chapter but it just felt like a good place to end off. Oh I should warn you all that this (as for right now) is taking place in season 2 so you should all think long and hard about what exactly that means and where I'm at in the season 2 timeline LOL**


	6. AUTHOR UPDATE NOT A CHAPTER

**UPDATE ON ME: Ok so here's the thing. I'm currently in the process of getting back into shape to go back into the military. So that means I am in the gym twice a day PLUS work and life and other things so I don't have a whole lot of free time. That being said I have not given up on writing. I will update all my active stories over the weekend, most likely Sunday because at the pace I have been going I think I am going to need a day off lol.**


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